Search results for "European integration"

Party Positions on Differentiated European Integration in the Nordic Countries: Growing Together, Growing Apart?

2020

The Nordic countries constitute an interesting laboratory for the study of differentiated European Integration. Even though Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden share some historical, cultural, socio-economic and political characteristics, all those countries have ultimately opted for a different kind of relationship with the EU. Whereas Finland, a member of the Eurozone since its inception in 1999, has been considered to be part of the Union’s ‘inner core’ for quite some time, Iceland and Norway, in contrast, have opted to remain outside the EU albeit closely associated via the European Economic Area Agreement. The variation of relationships has also been reflected in Nordic parti…

The Euro Area Crisis; Need for a Supranational Fiscal Risk Sharing Mechanism?

2013

The aim of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of risk sharing mechanisms in the euro area and whether a supranational fiscal risk sharing mechanism could insure countries against very severe downturns. Using an unbalanced panel of 15 euro area countries over the period 1979–2010, the results of the paper show that: (i) the effectiveness of risk sharing mechanisms in the euro area is significantly lower than in existing federations (such as the U.S. and Germany) and (ii) it falls sharply in severe downturns just when it is needed most; (iii) a supranational fiscal stabilization mechanism, financed by a relatively small contribution, would be able to fully insure euro area countries …

[Loyauté des transactions sur un marché relatif aux attributs de croyance : une analyse appliquée aux produits agro-alimentaires]

2001

International audience; Après avoir décliné la typologie des caractéristiques des produits en termes d'attributs de recherche, d'expérience et de croyance, les auteurs soulignent les mécanismes susceptibles d'assurer l'efficacité des transactions marchandes. Afin de cerner les enjeux liés à la loyauté des transactions dans le cas des attributs de croyance, ils montrent à l'aide d'un jeu simple, le caractère crucial des phases de définition, de vérification et de signalement, ces dernières nécessitant généralement l'intervention d'agents extérieurs à la transaction marchande.

Reconsidering learning by exporting

2012

Self-selection and learning by exporting are the main explanations for the higher productivity of exporting firms. But, whereas evidence on self-selection is largely undisputed, results on learning by exporting are mixed and far from conclusive. However, recent research by De Loecker (J Int Econ 73(1):69–98, 2007) has shown that the conclusions from previous learning by exporting studies may have been driven by strong assumptions about the evolution of productivity and the role of export status. Relaxing these assumptions turns out to be critical to find evidence of learning by exporting in a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms. Our results indicate that the yearly average …

Measuring the market power in the ceramic tile industry: An international comparison

2004

This paper measures the degree of competition faced by Spanish and Italian exporters of ceramic tiles in several European Union member states. The results indicate that Spanish producers have a substantial market power while Italian exporters face a high degree of competition. This finding is consistent with the significant gain (loss) in the world production and export shares that Spanish (Italian) producers experienced during the 1990s. The results are also consistent with accounting data. Furthermore, comparisons in the extent of market power across source countries and European destination markets reveal that most variation in the data is related to the source country. JEL no. F12, F14,…

Competitiveness Gap of the European Union Member Countries in the Context of Europe 2020 Strategy

2015

Abstract This paper is addressing issues of the competitiveness gap of the European Union member countries in the context of Europe 2020 strategy's smart growth. Authors are examining current competitiveness situation when economic performance of some countries are significantly better than others and how does it fit in the competitiveness framework set by Europe 2020 strategy. To have a closer look at the smart growth of European Union member countries authors examine R&D expenditures and their impact on patents and high-technology share in exports as one of the indicators of the competitiveness.

EU Referenda in the Baltics: Understanding the Results at the Regional Level

2005

This paper analyses regional differences in EU referenda results in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In each of the three countries, other things being equal, high income regions were significantly more pro-European than low-income ones, while regions with a high share of ethnic minorities were significantly more opposed to the enlargement than other regions. The ethnic effect was strongest in Latvia and weakest in Estonia. These findings clearly indicate necessity of stronger efforts both in integration of the Baltic societies and in the promotion of reliable EU information, especially in less developed regions. On the other hand, we confirm the findings from earlier referenda that support …

The Multi-Fibre Arrangement—A hydra of protectionism?

1981

Talks are at present in progress in Geneva among 51 industrialised and developing countries on a renewal of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) which expires at the end of 1981. The preliminaries of the negotiations have already revealed the existence of massive conflicts of interest not only between the industrialised countries on the one hand and the developing countries on the other but also within the two groups. The talks are moreover overshadowed by threats from individual industrialised countries to resort to unilateral protectionist measures unless a result satisfactory to them is achieved. This situation is the more explosive as the outcome of the negotiations is regarded worldwide a…

Free trade and protection of the environment: Is the GATT in need of reform?

1992

The GATT negotiations under the Uruguay Round have almost run their course. However, consultations are certain to continue, as critics regard the GATT rules on environmental protection as inadequate. What aspects need to be reformed, and how might the initial reform measures look?

Democratic Conditionality in the European Union

2017